Madrid, Spain, Oct 21, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The bishops of southern Spain have released a statement calling the phenomenon of immigration “unstoppable” and warning that it is a “vital issue” not only for poor countries but also “for richer countries,” and therefore they called for the international community to become involved in the matter.

“The immigration phenomenon is unstoppable and cannot be ignored. It is a vital issue for all, including the richest countries, and the EU, the United Nations and those international organizations devoted to promoting justice, liberty and peace should get involved,” the bishops said during their gathering at Cordoba.

They reiterated the “sacred and inalienable” value of the person, “no matter what his condition or country of origin is,” and they recalled that “the future of a nation does not consist in its being abandoned by its brightest children, but rather in seeking to reach full cultural, economic, social and political development.”

As they pondered the dramatic events of recent weeks in Ceuta and Melilla, where immigrants attempting to illegally cross the Spanish-Moroccan border were killed, the bishops emphasized that the goods of the earth are meant for everyone and that man is capable of “promoting an adequate social and industrious order that will make it possible to eradicate hunger, injustice and disease.”

Lastly, the bishops called on Catholics “to strive for a greater understanding of the reality of our times, as well as to open themselves up to welcoming and living peacefully and respectfully with those brothers and sisters of ours who join our society.”